Catching up on since arriving in Italy

Well another missive. I must say you’ll be getting really bored by my accounts of life in Bologna as less and less happens!!

But I’m in the habit of thinking I have to tell you this and that as I get around and there is a bit to tell today.

So here goes…I decided to set out early today and go to Ravenna…a long held desire of mine (mosaic’s you know!!). Got myself to the station, got myself a ticket, found the train (all of which are minor achievements) and got on. At departure time all the lights went off and the electronic departure board went down…guess what? Strike!! No trains going anywhere between 9 and 5. But no notification either so everyone on the train and ready to go. There were some pretty angry people I can tell you and I wasn’t one of them because it wasn’t life or death for me.

But then I had a day to fill ! So I backtracked to my ‘hood’ and went to ‘my’ coffee place and had my morning Cappuccino (actually she’s taken to giving me a Cappuccio which has a dash of chocolate…I don’t like it as much but she thinks she’s giving me a treat and I don’t have the heart to tell her I’d rather just a regular cappuccino). Then I thought, I should get my dinner for tonight so I went and bought some delicious looking stuff whatever it is in this wonderful little homemade shop in my street.
So, sorted for the night I decided I’d start to chase up Italian lessons. There is this place called Cultura Italiana that Giancarlo recommended as they often contact him for accommodation for students. So I set off…I can’t tell you how daunting it all is. I arrive at this Palazzo (Palace) , massive building with a massive closed door. On one of the little buttons is a small label…normally I’d run a mile but I can’t do that here I have to take the plunge. So I press the button and the door buzzes open. I tentatively walk up massive stairs in this cavernous building, peer around see a small sign and head for it. I walk in and there are classes all over the place, no idea where to go.
Someone points me up another flight of stairs and eventually I find a woman to give me information. Then she tells my I should sit in on a class to see what I think. Oh shit so there I am in a beginners class not understanding much at all. The thing is, and what is so different to my lovely class at CIS in Carlton, not a single one of the 8 students is a native English speaker. There are Spaniards (including the South American variety), Japanese, Chinese, French, Netherlands. So there is no common language other than Italian and that is absolutely all that is spoken…terrifying. It is shocking how overwhelming it is for me!!

Anyway thought I, I’m not here to admit defeat, at least not yet. So I’ve enrolled starting on 17th Nov because there isn’t a clear 4 weeks until I get back from Lyon for my Ham & Az treat. So…its 20hrs/week, 4 hrs/day for 4 weeks. INTENSIVE!!! Fuck a duck, if this isn’t insane I don’t know what is!!!

At least when I return from 4 days with H&A feeling totally bereft I’m sure I’ll have a very challenging project to get stuck into.

So I then need a glass of wine so I found a place to have lunch and I sat myself down to gather myself up.

Then I went to see one of the museums I haven’t seen only to find it was closed too, I think for the same reason the trains were on strike from what I gather…the problem with these things is that you climb massive flights of stairs before they tell you it’s closed!!

I then found a lovely courtyard to sit in the sun for a while. I rang Chris as she is struggling with an ever deteriorating Mishi and was trying to get into the Vet.
Then I decided I needed a coffee so found a place for coffee and sat down next to a couple of gay boys who turned around as soon as I opened my mouth and said Melbourne! They are from London but one of them has a father living in Kew so claimed he knew a Melbourne accent from 20 paces.
That was hilarious really. I heard the life stories including the death of one of their ex-partners during auto- erotic sex…we became very close very quickly!!! The other one was chatting up the gorgeous gay waiter while I heard this story!

Anyway they have invited me to dine with them tonight and (thinks I) what have I got to lose???
So I’m meeting them at Nu Lounge. I looked up the website…it is where Bologna’s ‘young, hip and beautiful’ meet…a chance to ‘rub elbows with Bologna’s beautiful people’…I mean what the fuck am I doing, honestly??? But I’m now committed to meeting them and maybe the waiter as well as one of the boys tries to get laid (they aren’t partners but friends, they both have partners back in London)!!!

Oh shit…and all of this in just one day, take 2 days and joining the Communist Party and honestly you’ll wonder how the hell you have let me loose.

I’ve come back to the apartment to catch my breath, have a quiet vino and contemplate my decision-making.

Ciao for now dears